Toner and Sullivan re-elected to top MTA positions

Paul Toner was re-elected president of the MTA and Timothy Sullivan was re-elected vice president at the MTA Annual Meeting of Delegates on May 12.

Both have held their current positions for two years and will begin serving their second and final two-year terms in those offices in July.

In his pre-election statement, Toner wrote, “My years of experience as MTA president, MTA vice president, an MTA Board member, local president in Cambridge, a middle school social studies teacher, a lawyer and a public school parent have prepared me to lead our state association.”

He went on to say, “My vision of the MTA is as a union of professional educators serving two equally important functions. First, as the largest labor union in the Commonwealth, we are a proud voice for workers’ rights, collective bargaining, due process in the workplace, improved compensation and benefits, human rights and social justice. … In addition to being a strong union and voice for the middle class, I believe the MTA must also be the voice of our profession and public education.”

Sullivan, a middle school reading teacher and computer lab manager, was president of the Brockton Education Association prior to his election as MTA vice president in 2010. In his pre-election statement, he wrote, “We must harness our common expertise by continuing to put our own imprimatur on education reform, thereby sending a message to the political establishment that we insist that our collective voice be heard. ... Now, more than ever, is the time to use our collective power to defeat those who seek to harm us and to work with those who are truly interested in partnering with us for the betterment of our profession.”

Toner has two children in the Cambridge Public Schools, and Sullivan has a son attending fifth grade in the Weymouth Public Schools.

In winning a second term by a wide margin, Toner defeated a challenge from the floor by Arlington Education Association President Ron Colosi.